The Rune Vision: Sleeytime Kids

While I mentioned I was going to start working on this next, in the future, chapter, I wondered if I was going to start on it last night. I didn’t, mostly because I started beating myself up over something and wouldn’t let it go for hours.

However, when I awoke today, I decided I needed to get to it and that’s exactly what happened. I started working on the first scene in the chapter and didn’t stop until I was done. Why’s that? Because I knew it wouldn’t be a long scene–and it wasn’t: almost eight hundred and seventy words. And it leads into the vision that’s coming in the next scene.

But first, let’s get through this:

(The following excerpts from The Foundation Chronicles, Book Three: C For Continuing, copyright 2016, 2017, 2018 by Cassidy Frazee)

Relaxation Room #2 was known as The Sleep Chamber, because it was not only the quietest room at Memory’s End, but the quietest above-ground room throughout the School of Salem. Several enchantments prevented any outside sounds from penetrating the walls and door, while another set of enchantments thickened the shadows to create a darkness only found deep within caves.

The Sleep Chamber was only used for a couple of things. The first was when Coraline needed to conduct a study with a student having a difficult time sleeping, and the second was when Deanna wanted to conduct a Divination lab that involved dreams.

Today was Deanna’s time in The Sleep Chamber and she was nervous.

After a few weeks of study since returning from Yule Holiday, today’s second Divination lab involved rune dreams—and this had Deanna slightly on edge, in much the same way as the first lab. While this was going to be the first experience with runes for the C Levels, some C Level students had already experienced rune dreams.

Given that she knew the contents of Annie’s and Kerry’s first and, so far, last rune dreams, Deanna’s concern was that this next rune dream would likely be on par with the first vision they experienced during a lab—which was to say extremely vivid and perhaps a touch embarrassing.

The runes Annie and Kerry chose randomly from the bag at the beginning of class did little to alleviate her concern. Annie took Raidho, which indicated travel in both physical and personal form, and was often seen as opening up an individual to changes in their lives as well as allowing them to view things from a greater point of view.

Kerry’s was Kenaz and Deanna kept her face as blank as possible when she recorded the result of his pick. Kenaz represented, among other things, visions and revelations, and was often views as a harbinger of transformation and regeneration of self, giving one the power to create their own reality. It also represented both passion and sexual love, which conjured the worst possible visions in Deanna’s imagination when she considered what could happen if Kerry were to share a dream vision with Annie.

The only thing that gave the seer comfort was that everyone in the class would be asleep, so there wasn’t any possibility that something embarrassing could occur with those two that the rest of the class could observe.

Class prep was quick because they’d spent the last half hour of the previous class going over the process. First the students would randomly choose a rune and hold it, giving it power from their aura. Then they would place it under the pillow they’d use during their sleep time to allow it access to their minds. After that they’d consume a light soporific—courtesy of Erywin—that would allow them to drift off to sleep with little difficulty. The last step, of course, was to get comfortable, lay down, and crawl under a comforter before falling asleep for an hour or so.

At that point Deanna would position all the spy eyes into place over each student, plunge the room into total darkness, and wait to see what transpired. After the students awoke she’d have all of them write down their dream visions if one actually occurred. She recognized—and passed this along to her students—that not everyone would have a vision—

Though she didn’t mention that some students might decide to speak in their sleep, eliminating the need to write anything down. She’d handle those instances on a case-by-case basis.

Almost as one the students charged their runes and placed them under their pillows, then lined up to receive their soporifics before returning to their pillows. The majority of students decided to sleep under a comforter and quickly crawled under them as they readied themselves for the quick nap. Only a few students decides to sleep together as a couple—though it wasn’t difficult to know which two students were going to do just that without being asked…

The moment everyone was down and appeared ready to sleep Deanna killed the lights, allowing darkness to fill the room. She sat quietly in the darkness for what felt like a long time, but after producing her own magical light source—a deep red that wouldn’t damage her night visions—she noticed the time on her table and saw that only five minutes had transpired. She got to her feet and began checking on a few students, seeing that they were all out and sleeping peacefully.

She gingerly stepped over bodies until she stood next to Annie and Kerry, who had, of course, decided to sleep as a couple. Their comforter was pulled up almost to their chins, but it was easy to see Annie nestled softly and snugly against Kerry’s chest, with his left arm under the covers but draped over her body. Deanna knelt near their heads and bent to get a closer look at their faces—

After only a few seconds of observation she saw their eyes moving under their lids.

The seer drew in a quiet breath and dimmed her red light. It’s started—

So tomorrow I hope to start on the vision and get that posted here. It might only be five hundred words or so–

I try to keep things are real as possible even in a fantasy world. I mean, when they get older they could just leave everything in the dome dark when they’re up with the ‘scope and use transformation magic to see in the dark, but early on that’s impossible. So you do what the pros do.